Arizona-Colorado game blog: Wildcats sink to the worst record in Pac-12

by Anthony Gimino on Nov 12, 2011, under Arizona football

Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Austin Hill runs after a reception in the first quarter. Photo by Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

Nick Foles’ final passing numbers: 352 yards. That gives him 9,289 career yards to become the school career leader with 9,289 yards. Old record: 9,221 (Willie Tuitama).

“It doesn’t mean anything to me,” Foles told reporters after the game. “Records are records, I broke every record in high school and I didn’t win a state championship and that’s all I cared about.”

Foles also threw a last-minute interception, his third of the game. He has been intercepted eight times in the past three games.

* * *

Colorado won a battle between the teams with the worst conference records in the Pac-12, beating Arizona 48-29.

The Buffs won their first Pac-12 game and improved to 1-6 in the Pac-12. Arizona dropped to 1-7, making the same kind of mistakes against the lowly Buffs as it did against the ranked teams it faced early it he season.

You would hope that Arizona could rebound emotionally and peak this week for next Saturday’s game at Arizona State, but nobody is counting on it.

Colorado’s 48 points — 30 above its season average — is the program’s most in a game since Nov. 23, 2007, when the Buffs had 65 against Nebraska.

* * *

Arizona recovers the on-side kick from Alex Zendejas, who dribbles the ball in front of him and then keeps it alive before CU can recover. …

Ha … and then Nick Foles is intercepted on the very next play. So that is that.

* * *

Ka’Deem Carey scores his second rushing touchdown of the game with 4:14 to play. Another two-point conversion pass fails, and the score stays at 41-29.

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Nick Foles became the Arizona career passing leader in the midway through the fourth quarter, surpassing Willie Tuitama, who had 9,221 yards from 2005 to 2008. foles is still adding to it on this drive.

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Rodney Stewart scores to make it 41-23 for Colorado with 7:41 to play. Hard to believe. Arizona has given up 41 points to a team that entered the game with the worst scoring offense in the Pac-12 at just over 18 points per game.

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Rodney Stewart goes over 100 yards rushing for Colorado, becoming the sixth UA opponent to rush for more than 100 yards this season. Two other running backs finished with 99 rushing yards vs. the Cats.

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Arizona quickly marches 88 yards for a touchdown, capped by an 11-yard play-action pass to David Douglas out of UA’s full-house backfield formation (which I don’t think they have used nearly enough).

After a Colorado penalty before the PAT moves the ball inside the 2, Arizona goes for two points — goes for two? — and fails. It’s now 34-23 with 10:33 to play. That decision doesn’t seem to make much sense. Anybody have a good reason there to go for two?

* * *

Arizona takes over at its 12 with 12:27 to play. So, if the Cats are going to make a late run at this game, it starts right here.

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Going to the fourth quarter …

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Playmaker. Freshman Tramyane Bondurant steps in front of a Tyler Hansen pass in the flat and races untouched for a touchdown on a 28-yard interception return. The Cats pull within 34-17 with 11 seconds to go in the third quarter.

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Almost too funny now. Nick Foles throws deep to Austin Hill but is intercepted in the end zone.

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Hard to believe Arizona was favored by 10 points in this game. When the Buffs try some razzle-dazzle, it works — of course — as running back Rodney Stewart throws a halfback pass to quarterback Tyler Hansen for a 15-yard touchdown. It’s also another third-down conversion for CU.

Colorado leads 34-210 with 3:50 to go in the third quarter, and this quickly becomes Arizona’s worst performance of the season. Which is saying something.

* * *

Arizona lets John Bonano try a 57-yard field goal, which would tie the school record, but his attempt with the wind ends up well short. He didn’t get his usual good leg on it, and the attempt likely was thrown off by a snap that was high and to the inside.

That’s something that probably hasn’t been mentioned enough this season — the snapping for punts and kicks has not been stellar. The loss of starting snapper Chase Gorham (who left the team for personal reasons in camp) has been significant.

* * *

Arizona gets lucky on special teams, as Colorado’s punter, attempting a rugby style kick while rolling to his right, hits the ball low into a teammate. Arizona takes over at the CU 39. …

And the Cats promptly go three-and-out.

* * *

Fourth-and-3 from the Arizona 47, and the Wildcats try a fake punt. It doesn’t work, of course. Taimi Tutogi takes the snap as an up-back, but is stuffed without problem short of the first down.

What gives the Cats any reason to think something tricky on special teams would work. The fake field goal last week was a disaster. If you want to go for fourth-and-3 near midfield down 17 points — and, shoot, what do you have to lose at this point — then just line up and go for it.

Colorado scores on a 16-yard pass from Tyler Hansen to Toney Clemons on another third-down conversion on the drive. Arizona had a few opportunities to stuff this Buffs’ drive, but failed each time, and now the Cats trail 27-10 with 10:26 to play in the third quarter.

* * *

Tyler Hansen scrambles for another first down on third-and-seven … and then CU tacks on another 15 yards on a penalty on Arizona’s Shaquille Richardson for hitting with his helmet.

Same old story: Arizona doesn’t win nearly enough of the game’s critical plays.

* * *

Nickel back Jourdon Grandon comes on a blitz on third down, but he takes a bad angle on Colorado quarterback Tyler Hansen, who escapes and scrambles to barely pick up the first down. A three-and-out could have been big for the Cats, who have the wind in the third quarter.

* * *

Nick Foles with 133 yards at halftime, needs 152 to break school career passing mark of 9,221, held by Willie Tuitama.

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Tweets TucsonCitizen.com blogger Scott Terrell: If you have “Punter take a knee” on your card you may have Special Teams Blunder Bingo for the 2011.

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Halftime. Colorado leads 20-10 and gets the ball first to start the second half on a blustery day in Boulder. Arizona’s defense played better after allowing a pair of 80-yard drives but it was a familiar story as the Cats dug an early hole, the offense was inefficient and special teams made a costly mistake.

* * *

Colorado turns Arizona’s special teams miscue into a touchdown. Josh Ford dashes up the middle for a 17-yard score and a 20-10 lead with 2:12 to go before halftime.

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Even in the 10th game of the season, Arizona is finding news ways to mess up special teams. This time, punter Kyle Dugandzic fields a low and wide snap with his right knee on the ground, which means he’s down at the spot, which happened to be the UA 28-yard line.

* * *

Drew Robinson? Arizona threw a pass to the tight end? Yep, that was Robinson’s second catch of the season. Still missing Gronk.

* * *

The Arizona defense has forced two consecutive three-and-outs, as Colorado standout RB Rodney Stewart is out with an ankle injury.

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Nice to see more of Ka’Deem Carey, who breaks off a 27-yard run, breaking tackles, down to the 1-yard line. After Taimi Tutogi gets stuffed on first down, Carey gets back in the game and slices in for a touchdown.

Arizona gets back into the game, making it 13-10 with 6:28 to go before halftime.

* * *

Nick Foles, on the move again on third down from the Colorado 47, gets the ball knocked out from behind … and this time the Buffs recover. CU defensive coordinator Greg Brown is dialing up plenty of pressure against UA’s young front — and it’s working.

Colorado has all the momentum.

* * *

Colorado goes for it on fourth-and-2 from the UA 5 and scores on a rollout pass from Tyler Hansen to RB Tony Jones. The wind helps push the PAT to wide left, so CU leads only 13-3 with 13:19 to play in the second quarter.

Amazingly, Arizona has now trailed by double-digits in the first half of six of eight conference games.

* * *

Colorado had 163 yards in the first quarter, with big plays in the running game AND the passing game. Buffs playing with more energy on Senior Day.

As I’m typing that, a fumbled pitch from Tyler Hansen results in a 13-yard loss to the UA 26.

* * *

Colorado’s Rodney Stewart = fast.

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Freshman Cortez Johnson is playing cornerback for Trevin Wade, who has been bothered by a leg injury.

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John Bonano kicks a 25-yard field goal to salvage something out of that red-zone opportunity, and the Cats gets within 7-3 with 4:14 to go in the first quarter.

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QB Nick Foles scrambles on third down and fumbles near the first-down marker. Center Kyle Quinn recovers to avert disaster. Facing fourth-and-3, Arizona takes its second timeout of the drive.

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And now a formation penalty vs. the Cats. It’s first-and-20.

* * *

Arizona reaches first-and-10 at the Colorado 14, then gets flagged for a false start … and then has to take a timeout with the play clock winding down. We’ll see what happens with the rest of this drive, but it’s there kind of inefficiencies in the red zone that have short-circuited the offense since the middle of last season.

* * *

Arizona interim coach Tim Kish talked this week about how quick Rodney Stewart is to the perimeter, and the Colorado senior shows that quickness as he bounces a run to the outside, jukes cornerback Shaquille Richardson and then races to the right corner of the end zone.

So, Colorado, a team that has been plagued by slow starts takes a 7-0 lead on Arizona, a team that has been plagued by slow starts. There is 10:56 to go in the first quarter.

* * *

Arizona is sticking with its “big” combination of defensive ends — Kirifi Taula and Dan Pettinato. Cornerback Shaquille Richardson is back in the lineup after missing 2 1/2 games because of suspension and an ankle injury.

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Something to keep in mind today. Arizona quarterback Nick Foles starts the day with 8,937 career passing yards, 284 away from Willie Tuitama’s school record.

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Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn speaks to Denver Broncos executive vice president for football operations John Elway in the media box in Folsom Field prior to the game. Photo by Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

* * *

Update on the weather: Kyle Ringo of the Boulder Daily Camera reports that winds are usting to 35 mph. That is not good news for the UA passing game.

* * *

Arizona and Colorado, the teams with the worst conference records in the Pac-12, are playing for pride this afternoon in Boulder.

The Wildcats are 2-7 overall and 1-6 in the league. The Buffaloes are 1-9 overall and 0-6 in the conference. This is Senior Day for the Buffs, so the team should have extra motivation to go out a winner at Folsom Field.

Colorado, which has been playing at this stadium since 1924, has never had a winless home season.

As for Arizona, interim coach Tim Kish said this week that his team continues to fight through a difficult injury-plagued season, which includes the firing of coach Mike Stoops at midseason. The Wildcats have lost two in a row, often making critical mistakes, after winning their first game under Kish.

“Adversity introduces a man to himself,” Kish said this week. “We’re going to find out where we’re at in that situation.”

* * *

Arizona, perhaps somewhat surprisingly given its struggles, is a 10-point favorite. On the other hand, Colorado has lost six consecutive games vs. the spread.

* * *

Today’s weather forecast in Boulder is for the mid-50s and windy, which is a lot better than it can be there in mid-November.

Arizona quarterback Nick Foles said he won’t be affected by the cold; he began his career at Michigan State, remember.

“I played in snow when my hand was frozen,” he said.

* * *

It will be a battle of slow-starting teams: Colorado has been outscored 98-17 in the first quarter of Pac-12 games. Arizona has trailed by double-digits in the first half of five league games.

Each team has led at halftime only once in conference action.

* * *

Colorado has played five consecutive teams that either are or have been ranked this season — Stanford, Washington, Oregon, Arizona State and USC.

While Arizona isn’t in that class, its offense is plenty dangerous and should have success against a wobbling CU defense.

The Buffs have allowed at least 500 yards and 40 points in five straight games. Both of those streaks are firsts in school history.

* * *

Arizona secondary coach Ryan Walters, 25, was a standout safety for Colorado, ending in 2008, playing under position coach Greg Brown. Walters followed Brown to Arizona in 2010 as a graduate assistant while Brown served as secondary coach and co-defensive coordinator.

Brown returned to CU after last season to become defensive coordinator for first-year coach Jon Embree; Walters was elevated to full-time secondary coach.

He said he owes Brown “everything.”

“Xs and Os-wise, he’s a genius,” Walters said. “That helped me in my maturation as a coach. I own him a lot, as well as Coach Mike (Stoops).”

* * *

One of the concerns about playing in Boulder, especially for the first time is the adjustment to the elevation.

Walters said he would see the elevation affect opponents at times.

“Especially if it was a long drive, you definitely saw people huffing and puffing,” he said. “Some teams would cramp a little bit. …

“But in football you get those breaks between plays. I don’t think it affects you as much as people hype it up to be.”